Nuka/Main article
Nuka is Zira's son, Vitani and Kovu's older brother, and the secondary antagonist in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride. Physical Attributes Nuka has dark grey fur with a noticeable tinge of reddish-brown, a scraggly black mane, bright red eyes (that appear orange in one scene), and dark eyeshades. Also, Nuka has his mother's earstrips, and freckles that disappear occasionally. He is lanky and thin, which is most likely due to a lack of bathing, malnutrition, and poor care. His eyeshades are dark and he is known to be plagued by termites. Nuka's eyes are dark red at some points of the Movie(in the Outlands) and Bright red in other parts(when pursuing Simba). Personality Nuka is angsty and brooding for the first half of the movie, complaining about not being the Chosen One in favor of the younger Kovu, and not receiving his mother's attention. He makes Vitani stagger back by clipping a root she was tugging on, and laughing right afterwards, establishing him as sadistic like his mother. He is violent and impulsive as shown by the quote above and like Scar, tries to prove he is better than his brother Kovu(but dies in the process), making him a selfish, self-centered being. Information Early Life As suggested by the movie, Nuka was born during Scar's reign, and didn't seem to have a good relationship with the King, evident by his distaste shown in the second movie. According to him, neither Scar nor Zira gave Nuka a chance at being heir to the throne. The Lion King II: Simba's Pride Teenage Nuka Nuka makes his very first appearance as a teenag er complaining and muttering angrily to himself about how Kovu wasn't even Scar's son, yet still ups him in importance and rank. He asks Vitani, mockingly so, where his younger brother is and interupts her battle with a dry root. Vitani asks Nuka his own question to which Nuka replies it's every lion for himself in the Outlands and Kovu needs to learn to be on his own. Vitani threatens their mother, Zira won't be pleased with Nuka abandoning Kovu and letting him wander, but Nuka replies he doesn't care and that he should be the chosen one as he is the oldest, strongest, and(as far as he's concerned) the smartest. He goes on to say he could be a leader if Zira gave him a chance and Vitani doubts him. She then informs Nuka of Zira's arrival. Nuka becomes nervous, telling his mother she caught her some field mice for her dinner and deflates when he is ignored. He follows her anyway, only to be yelled at by her. Kovu takes the blame and Zira's rage, accidentally giving Zira a plan to get back at Simba. When Zira compliments Kovu for thinking alike to Scar, something Nuka reacts with disguest at. Zira snarls at him for this, allowing her glare to linger on him a bit longer before gathering up Kovu and carrying him into the den, where once more Nuka complains about not being the chosen one(when Zira is out of Earshot). He participates in the song My Lullaby, enthusiastic when singing about bringing harm to Kiara, Simba, and getting revenge, but lethargic when Zira goes on to praise Kovu. This is the last time he's seen as a teenager. Adult Nuka Years later, Nuka has become a full adult and his siblings young adults. Kiara has started her first hunt and while she struggles to catch prey, Nuka and his sister pay a visit to the Elephant Graveyard. He reacts in disgust about being there, Vitani dimissing his behavior as fear(something Nuka denies). Nuka laments so more about not having a chance, wonder why if Kovu is so 'special' why he needs them to succeed. A geyser erupts, scaring him and he runs over by Vitani, who rolls her eyes at him. The two sticks they bring are ignited by the geysers, and turned into torches. Vitani picks hers up, Nuka copying the action and getting his face singed by the geyser along with the stick. Him and his sister intrude into the pridelands, spot Kiara, and procceed to set the plains alight. After the plan is a success, Nuka and Zira track Kovu's process from a distance on a tree. Nuka is displeased at Kovu not attacking Kiara, but Zira quickly shushes him and assures everything is going according to plan. Nuka is last seen during the ambush, as he is the first to leap out and confront Simba. When the Outlanders swarm, he tackles the bunch off of the side of a cliff and proceeds along with the rest of the pride to pursue the King. Simba tries to escape up an unstable dam, and when Kovu refuses to get Simba, Nuka sees his chance and goes after Simba alone in hopes to please his mother and prove to everyone he is t he lion everyone thought Kovu to be. He succeeds in snagging Simba's foot, but a weak long gives way under his paw and Nuka slips. Simba makes it safely onto a nearby cliff at the top of the dam, sending more logs to crush Nuka in the process. Kovu descends, throwing the clutter out of the way in an attempt to save his brother but it smacked away by Zira who digs madly for her son. She is too late, and after Nuka gains to affection he's always wanted from his mother, and with a last broken "Didn't I..." a remaining peice from Nuka's Original Death scene, he dies in her paw. Concepts Appearance and Personality In the early concepts for Nuka, he shared many similarities to Scar's. He had the same reddish-brown fur, albeit a bit duskier than Scar's, and he even has uncolored paws in some concepts. Based on his facial expressions, Nuka wasn't originally the comic relief villian he was in the final movie. His expressions in most of the concepts are deceptive, sneaky and scheming. His fur, mane and whiskers are smooth and elegant unlike the scruffy, unkepmt final version. In another one of his concepts, his groomed look has become more dishevelled, but he is still in better shape than the final Nuka. He still retains the devious look, though it seems more dopey than the first. In this picture, his mane doesn't extend down the length of his neck, staying only at his head. This could mean he was the same age as adolescent Simba in The Lion King 1½. His last two concepts are more reminiscent of the final Nuka. His deviousnses has been completely taken away, and replaced by stupidy and jitteriness. However, both concepts have Nuka with uncolored paws. Name It is unclear wether the working name 'Nunka' was Nuka's original name, since Nunka was supposed to be voiced by Andy Dick, the current voice actor for Nuka or a working name for Kovu, as 'Nunka' was supposed to be Kiara's love, a role that currently belongs to Kovu.http://www.thumper.net/tlkmag/archive/general/tlk2.htm The Variety magazine has Simba listed as Scar's brother, which is dead wrong, so it could be possible 'Nunka' is a mispelling of 'Nuka', as Nunka means nothing in Swahili, where most of the names for all the characters, Semi-canon or not, Stem-from. It is entirely Possible Nunka was split into two different Characters entirely:(read more about that here) Kovu and Nuka, since Nuka shares the black mane, a similar name to Nunka, and voice actor while Kovu shares the green eyes and wooing of Simba's daughter. Nuka's Original death scene The scene where Nuka dies was originally longer, and survives as a pencil test. As Nuka lies crushed underneath the logs, Zira cradles his head gently with a paw. Pleased with her affection towards him, Nuka manages to say "Well, I finally got your attention, didn't I?" which makes Zira smile for once at him. He croaked another "Didn't I..." before he finally diesYouTube - Nuka Dies (The Version Never Seen). In the final version, Nuka is crushed by the logs, and Kovu rushes to pull the logs off, but he is pushed aside by Zira, who at seeing her son under the logs, mutters "Nuka..." in a melancholic tone (this is the only time in the movie Zira is shown to be somewhat upset), and all Nuka says is "I'm sorry, Mother...I tried...", Zira then hushes him to sleep, at the same time looking shocked and upset by his death. Vitani stands beside her, and mutters "Nuka..." then turning to the other lions and hanging her head in sadness. Zira later says "Scar... watch over my poor Nuka." Family Tree Trivia * In some Simba's Pride books, Nuka is referred to as Zira's second-in-command. It is unclear whether this is true or not, as the spot seems to belong to Vitani in the film. * When Nuka wants nothing to do with Scar, he isn't considered a traitor. When Kovu wants nothing more to do with Scar however, Kovu is considered a traitor as well as Vitani. This could hint,along with his appearance and mannerisms, Nuka was Scar's child while Vitani and Nuka were not. * Nuka's fleas mysteriously disappear the second half of the Movie. * He can still be heard saying "Didn't I?" during the Finalized movie, possibly a part from the deleted scene they screenplayers forgot to cut. It, however, is colored and could be intentional. * Nuka's mane swaps between black and dark brown frequently throughout the movie while his beard and elbow tufts stay black. His mane remains primarily black though. * Nuka is the only Outlander who wants to kill Simba for reasons not relating to revenge about Scar's death. * Nuka was most likely Nunka, who was the son of Scar, as his mane stays black while Kovu's changes brown to distance him further from Scar. Songs *My Lullaby Quotes Gallery ConceptNuka1.jpg|Concept artwork of Nuka ConceptNuka02.jpg|More concept artwork of Nuka Nuka2.jpg|Nuka scratching his termites The-Lion-King-2-the-lion-king-2-simbas-pride-4641117-850-504.jpg|Nuka continues scratching his termites Kklion.png Yousetmysoualight.png|Nuka and Vitani Prepare to set the Pridelands alight Nuka3.jpg|Nuka after being snarled at by Zira lullaby2.jpg|Nuka and his mother in "My Lullaby" Nuka.png|Nuka in the Elephant Graveyard Nukafire.png|Nuka preparing to set his shoot on fire fire.jpg|Nuka executing Zira's plan Mheetufb copy.png|"Is it hot here or that's just me?" 17754.png|Nuka confronts Simba Nuka trying to stop Simba as he climbs up a pile of logs.jpg|Nuka's satisfaction after catching Simba Nuka Dying.jpg|Nuka as he dies, head cradled in Zira's paw 56756847.png 18626.png 20.jpg|Translation: Zira Now Has a son, who called Kovu. She has big plans for him. "Kovu, you are next to Lion King!" Zira tells him. "You go and fight those nasty Simba course wen ji! Then you are king!" Zira to come to a Leo. I secretly sneaked into the kingdom to see waat happening there "says the lion ... Simba and Nala, and baby girl!"|link=http://www.lionking.org/~vakasi/ References Category:Male Characters Category:Outsiders Category:Deceased Characters Category:Characters Category:Antagonists Category:Lions Category:Movie Characters Category:Official Characters